European Commission gains support for negotiation with Russia over gas

On 26 June, 13 EU states expressed support to the European Commission (EC) to negotiate with Russia on behalf of EU on Russian gas exports through the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. The estimated date for voting on EC's mandate in favour of a single EU-Russia negotiation is set for autumn of this year.

The debate began in connection with the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which is criticised mainly by Central and Eastern European countries, due to their fear of an increasing dependence of the EU on Russian gas. Estonia said on 28 June that the EC's mandate should include all Russian gas supplies, not just the Nord Stream 2. Germany disagrees with the involvement of the EC because Nord Stream 2 is seen as a purely commercial project. Austria and France, as well as Germany, disagree because their companies are Gazprom's partner companies in the planned construction. Russia's primary intention was to bypass Ukraine, which would then lose the position of a transit country that the EU promised to still guarantee to a certain extent, which is the main reason for a possible greater involvement of the EC in negotiations with Russia.